Firefox taking up too much hard drive space
After removing Firefox from my system a few months ago, I noticed I had a version of Firefox taking up 48 GB on my SSD. I have tried to uninstall through the apps and features on my computer, but to no avail. Is there anyway to fix this problem, or is it stuck on my SSD permanently? Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Chosen solution
The Windows Installer section of the Windows Registry may have obsolete information. Wouldn't be the first time.
I've got a key for this version:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Mozilla Firefox 50.1.0 (x86 en-US)
and it stores a value for EstimatedSize that I assume is used when displaying the Uninstall a Program dialog (or whatever Windows 10 is showing you).
Assuming you installed the standard Firefox release, rather than the 64-bit version, yours presumably would be closer to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Mozilla Firefox 47.0 (x86 en-US)
If you are not familiar with editing the registry, then I suggest just ignoring this problem."
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Where is the 48GB information coming from?
You can find Firefox's folders in the following locations on 64-bit Windows:
Program files:
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Maintenance Service
Main settings files (bookmarks, passwords, etc.):
- C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla
AppData is a hidden folder, so see the following article if needed: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/show-hidden-files
Cache and other temporary files:
- C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Mozilla
Looked and nothing is there. Under the apps and features panel it shows Mozilla Firefox 47.0 taking up 48.3GB
Bcoop said
Looked and nothing is there. ...
Gotta be there if you have Firefox installed and you haven't modified Firefox.
By doing a Custom installation, Firefox program files can be installed on any logical drive (~135Mb installation size); doesn't "have to" be on the C:/ drive with the operating system. But the Firefox "Profile" files will end up in AppData (or whatever it's called on Windows10) - some files in Roaming (the main Profile files) and the largest amount of files & data in Local (the cache = your browsing history - and few misc files.)
If the "size" of the Local files / folders causes concern, don't save history and clear the cache. That will probably save you 1/2 of that 48GB.
Another thing you can do is to create a new Profile on a different logical disk; and then delete your current Profile. But I don't really recommend that you do that, considering that you were told where all the Firefox files are installed and you couldn't find them when told precisely where to look for them.
Chosen Solution
The Windows Installer section of the Windows Registry may have obsolete information. Wouldn't be the first time.
I've got a key for this version:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Mozilla Firefox 50.1.0 (x86 en-US)
and it stores a value for EstimatedSize that I assume is used when displaying the Uninstall a Program dialog (or whatever Windows 10 is showing you).
Assuming you installed the standard Firefox release, rather than the 64-bit version, yours presumably would be closer to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Mozilla Firefox 47.0 (x86 en-US)
If you are not familiar with editing the registry, then I suggest just ignoring this problem."
I'm just going to assume it's a problem on windows end for now. It probably is. I don't want to risk deleting any files in the registry. Thanks for the help.